A look at Derby Day

The 2013 Kentucky Derby, the sloppiest 2:02 in sports, is now in the books. NBC started its coverage at 10 a.m. (on NBCSN until NBC took over in the afternoon), and I’m sure they paid dearly for the exclusive rights.

The Derby is one of the most watched sporting events of the year, so let’s review how the network did presenting the race to us. Please keep in mind that this is a sporting event. Maybe NBC needs to be reminded also.

They certainly put knowledgeable horse people on the payroll for the day. Bob Costas, Lafit Pincay, Randy Moss, Jerry Bailey, Mike Bettaglia, Jay Privman and Bob Nueimier know the game and did their homework.

Viewers tune in to see if they can pick up some inside information that may help them cash a few tickets, because for bettors, this is their Super Bowl. It is time for them to “get even, or even worse.” NBC could cater to the gambling aspect of the day, seeing that most people are making investments while they watch.

It was quite evident that NBC was more interested in making sure that we were force fed info, like the following:

*Ladies at the track dress up and wear big fancy hats.
*Joan Rivers and Blake Shelton predicted who they think will win the race.
*Jockey Rosie Napravnik is a female.
*Shug McGaughey is liked by everyone in the racing business.
*There were 160,000 people at the track.
*The track was wet and sloppy.
*Gary Stevens is no longer retired as a rider.
*Jockey Kevin Krigger is of African American descent.
*There were millionaires on Millionaires Row.

I don’t know about you, but this information did not help me cash a ticket.

2013 Kentucky Derby Facts:
Only three horses ever had the lead, Palace Malice, Normandy Invasion and Orb at the finish
After three-quarters of a mile, the top three finishers were in 17th place, 15th place and 18th place. (Did you think that speed would hold up ?)
$130 million was bet on the race; $151 million was bet during the 13 race card at Churchill Downs.
A $2 winning exacta ticket was worth $981.
A $2 trifecta ticket was worth $6,925.60.
A $2 superfecta ticket was worth more than $57,000.

Nice money for sure, but how were we supposed to know to bet the “tough” horse, 38-1 Golden Soul, who ran second, in order to make a score. NBC gave him no love at all.

Three ways we could have known that Golden Soul was “live”:
1. Pittsfield native and president of the Horse Racing Radio Network, Mike Penna, and his crew of experts, including Sean Clancy of Saratoga talked extensively and positively about Golden Soul in their coverage.
2. Mike Welch of The Daily Racing Form, who worked at Green Mt. in Pownal, Vt., in the ’70s, touted the excellent workouts of Golden Soul at Churchill leading up to the big race.
3. Gary Quill of E-Ponies.com told us “Dallas Stewart [trainer of Golden Soul] has been pointing to the Derby with this horse since day one. Distance will not be an issue.”

Golden Soul did not qualify for the race initially and only got in after some horses defected. Stewart gambled and had his horse working at the track just in case.

Quill’s picks in the race were Revolutionary (ran third), Orb (the winner) and Golden Soul (second). If you spent $24 and boxed his picks in the tri and exacta, you got back close to $7,000. Quill is based out of the Baltimore area, so check him out before you make your Preekness wagers. Follow him on Twitter (@horseracingnut) and at horseracingnation.com.

I guess NBC didn’t think this information would be helpful to the viewer, but it was critical that we saw Robert Griffen III in his fancy lid telling us who he was going to bet $2 on.

The features NBC presented throughout the day were nice and very informative, but for a network who likes to clutter up the screen with graphics on their other sporting telecasts, they could put a small MTP (minutes to post) box in the corner of the screen. They finally got the word to run the odds on a crawl during the features.

A reminder for The Preekness, please leave the payoffs up on the screen long enough for us to see them, and there are fans who bet pick threes and pick fours, and you never include these prices.

The payoffs are just as important as the race itself. If you are going to cover an event and present it to the viewers, give us the same benefits people at the track receive.

A local connection

Always looking for the local angle, we look to Derby Day on NBC. Before and after the race prior to the Derby, The Woodward Reserve Turf Classic, if you were paying attention, you saw North Adams native Kelly Wheeler tending to 2012 Horse of the Year, Wise Dan.

“Dan” did not disappoint and won his sixth straight race. Kelly took her Midway College degree in equine management and is now in the employ of trainer Charlie Lopresti and the Phipps family in Kentucky.

Posted by Dick Syriac on May 16, 2013. Filed under Berkshire Sports Guy,Columns,Opinion,Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry